August 18, 2011
England

Mystery of man’s crane death

Halifax Courier, www.halifaxcourier.co.uk 18 August 2011

Mystery last night surrounded the death of a driver in the cab of his giant crane.

Lindsey Easton, 49, from Sowerby Bridge, was driving the eight-axle crane when it hit an earth bank at a quarry in Rossendale, Lancashire.

Mr Easton was trapped in the 130-tonne juggernaut, owned by Baldwin’s Crane Hire.

He suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lancashire Police say a joint investigation has been launched with the Health and Safety Executive.

Mr Easton was driving on a private road shared with the nearby quarry, owned by Marshalls.

Police were called at 11.55am on Monday along with fire crews.

The accident happened near Scout Moor wind farm.

It is the largest onshore wind farm in the country and is operated by Peel Energy.

A spokesmann for the company said: “We are fully aware of the incident at Scout Moor on Monday.

“Our deepest sympathies are with the family and relatives of the crane driver involved.

“We are working with the Health and Safety team to find out what happened.”

Marshalls said they were deeply saddened about the accident.